Divider attachment



' June 11, 1946. G. J. YOUNG DIVIDER ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 22, 1944 lllllll'.

IN VEN TOR.

GEORGE J. YOUNG I 1 BY Patented June 11, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DIVIDER ATTACHMENT George J. Young, Depew, N. Y. Application February 22, 1944, Serial No. 523,387

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to attachments for machinists dividers and particularly to attachments capable of converting such dividers into various kinds of calipers.

In the prior art various attempts have been made to construct tools or instruments which serve the purpose of both dividers and calipers. Attachments have also been proposed for converting tools or instruments from one of the above types to another. In general, the combination tools previously proposed have been awkward and cumbersome and generally inaccurate as precision measuring instruments. Attempts to render them more accurate usually result in tools or instruments whose conversion from one type to another is too difficult or time consuming to be profitable. Further, combination tools in this field frequently are more costly to produce than the several separate tools which they are intended to replace. In the case of attachments, likewise, their mode of connection with the tool proper has generally been such as to be either lacking in accuracy or in facility of application.

The present invention provides a simple unitary device which may be applied to a divider leg in a simple and speedy manner to convert such leg into a caliper leg. The nature of the attachment of the present invention is such that it may be almost instantaneously applied to a divider leg with respect to which it will inherently retain a relatively fixed and accurate position. Further, according to the present invention, the attachment is such that it may be selectively applied to a caliper leg in a variety of relative positions. In this way, a given pair of dividers may be selectively converted into inside or outside calipers and, further, both the inside and outside calipers so formed may be of various kinds, as will appear in greater detail from a consideration of the detailed description which follows in conjunction with accompanying drawing.

While a single specific embodiment of the attachment of the present invention is described in detail and illustrated in the drawing it is to be understood that this is done merely by way of example and that the spirit and scope of the invention are not limited otherwise than as defined in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a preferred form of the divider attachment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view thereof taken at right angles to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a pair of machinists dividers fitting with a pair of caliperforming attachments like the one shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the attachments applied in an alternative manner for outside calipering; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the attachments applied in an alternative manner for inside calipering.

Throughout the several figures of the drawing like characters of reference denote like parts and the attachment of Figs. 1 and 2 is designated generally by the numeral [0. Such attachment comprises essentially a tubular upper portion H and an onset lower terminal portion l2 which forms a caliper foot. The tubular upper portion I l provides a socket 13 which may directly receive a divider leg in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3, where a conventional machinists dividers is shown at A. If the caliper feet l2 are directed toward each other as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, the dividers are converted to outside calipers, whereas if the feet are directed outwardly as shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 3, the dividers are converted into inside calipers.

The transverse cross sections of the legs of machin-ists dividers are generally oblong, at least they are so at short distances up from their points. For this reason the socket I3 of each attachment may be OblOng in cross section, whereby when the attachment is applied as in Fig. 3 for either an outside or an inside calipering operation, there will be no possibility of rotation of the foot on the divider leg.

It is desired that the attachment be applicable to divider legs in the oblique manner illustrated in Fig. 4, so that various outside calipering operations may be performed without interference by the legs of the dividers proper. To this end the tubular portion H of each attachment I0 is provided with the pair of oblique openings I5 and I6 which, considered as a unit, taper lengthwise at approximately the degree which the divider legs proper generally taper. In other words, referring to Fig. 1, the opening I6 is smaller than the opposite opening I5. It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the openings I5 and I6 are likewise oblong, and this is for the same reason as was stated in connection with a discussion of socket l3. It will be noted from Figs. 1 and 2 that the tubular portion ll of the attachment I0 is slit lengthwise as at I8, the slits preferably extending to a point below the openings l5 and I6. At least the tubular portion ll of attachment [0 is preferably formed of a resilient material to cause the attachment to grip a divider leg to which it is applied, whether it be applied lengthwise as shown in Fig. 3 or obliquely as shown in Fig. 4. To produce this result it obvious that both the socket l3 and the oblique passages l 5 and It or at least portions thereof, must be initially somewhat less in dimension than the part of the divider leg which th attachment is to grip when in assembled position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 which shows the attachments applied obliquely for inside calipering for various purposes as for instance when an inside diameter can be reached only by pr0.-.

jecting the instrument through a considerably smaller inside diameter. This arrangement also increases the maximum inside diameter which may be measured with a giveninstrument.

A great deal of the efiicacy of the present attachment is attributable to the facility with which it may be applied and the wide variety of positions and combinations that may be effected. By merely removing the attachment of any one of Figs. 3, 4, and 5, a variety of hermaphrodite calipers are provided. By applying one legfor inside calipering and the other leg for outside calipering, odd-leg calipers are provided, such as 4 are used in measuring shoulder distances on flat work, boring half round, etc. By applying an attachment to one leg lengthwise and the other obliquely, both being directed for outside calipering, keyhole calipers are provided.

Some of the less used forms of calipers or combination caliper-dividers are not found in the average machinists or mechanics assortment of tools because of the cost of acquiring a large variety of special purpose tools. They are desirable but the fact that they are not used frequently leads the machinist or mechanic to adopt The obvious a makeshift for occasional uses. simplicity and versatility of the present attachment'places at the disposal of machinists and other mechanics the means for accomplishing many special-purpose calipering and dividing operations.

What is claimed is:

A caliper attachment for dividers and like instruments comprising a split tubular portion of resilient material providing an expansible socket for receiving and resiliently gripping the terminal portion of a divider leg, and a laterally offset callher foot rigidly carried by said tubular portion.

' GEORGE J. YOUNG. 

